STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- It was a given that, with the Mustangs venturing into Happy Valley for a playoff date with Penn State and 106,000 fans, SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings could not afford to relive the rough start he endured in the ACC championship game. As it turned out, SMU fans would have killed for a repeat of his Clemson game.
Yet even after Jennings threw two pick-sixes in the first half (to Penn State linebackers, no less), SMU was given one temporary reprieve when Nittany Lions coach James Franklin lost his mind and gambled on a fourth-and-1 at his own 19-yard line. I know it's trendy to do these things, but Penn State had shown almost no running game to this point, and when SMU held the line, the Mustangs had the shortest field they would have all day.
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